School Committee notes from March 31 meeting

By Mike Berger

• School Superintendent Jeff Granatino announced that Kimberly Sefrino will be the new Kennedy School principal, effective July 1. Sefrino will replace Jan Chamberlain, who is serving as interim principal this year after previous JFK Principal Jennifer Henderson was named the district’s director of curriculum and instruction.

Sefrino has been a teacher and principal in the Fall River public schools for the past 25 years. She has a master’s degree in education from Providence College and is currently in her 15th year as a building principal. Granatino said Sefrino’s strengths are many, including leadership and communication with parents and staff.

• School Committee members are pleased with a $3,500 grant from the Blue Hills Community Health Association that will allow for supervision of the CHS Scott Herr Memorial Fitness Center by staff members from the Stoughton YMCA.

The grant will enable Canton seniors to use the fitness center after school for a nine-week pilot program. The center will be staffed from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition, there will be student and staff fitness classes in the CHS Yoga Annex and a Wednesday Zumba class for the Council on Aging, staff and students. The grant was written by Canton K-12 Wellness Director Peter Boucher with help from Janet Donnelly, COA Director Dianne Tynan, YMCA Executive Director Joyce Dwyer, and students Pranathi Ganni, Elizabeth Crespi and Alicia Healey.

• School Committee members gave the go-ahead to the Luce School CAPT to progress with plans to build a new playground. Donna Leonard told the committee she is meeting with a playground company to discuss plans and equipment for a 70-by-40-foot area. The project needs approval from Building Inspector Ed Walsh as well as the planning and zoning boards. Private fundraising will pay for the estimated $30,000 project.

• In order to benefit more organizations, the School Committee has decided to reduce the amount given to each group that applied for assistance from the Cabot Fund this year. Established by the Cabot Family, the fund is dispersed by the School Committee annually and pays for programs that promote healthy outdoor life. The amount of money to be disbursed this year is $10,159.

Many youth sports organizations have applied, along with the Luce Playground Committee and Canton Legion Baseball, amounting to $16,000 worth of funding requests. All will be proportionately funded, but the School Committee wants detailed reasons for the expenditures for next year. Some applicants sent in requests without any backup information.

• Granatino announced that 125 CHS students will take at least one Advanced Placement exam in May, which represents an increase of 55 students compared to last year. “It’s a great sign for the teachers,” Granatino said. “The bar is being raised at CHS.”

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